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No Man's Land (Apollo's Song)
After a night of rest, Shogo explains to his doctor how he wanted to strangle him last night, though it wasn't for the shock treatment, but for the strange dream he had. The doctor is quite interested in what he was dreaming about, especially since he called out a woman's name. Shogo threatens the doctor to never let him have such strange dreams again, though the doctor expresses that Shogo must be cured of his impulsive killing habits. Shogo tries to brush him off, saying this is how he is and he will never change. Still determined, the doctor brings out a swaying pocket watch, asking Shogo what he sees. Shogo proceeds to fall asleep. --- Shogo finds himself as a professional pilot, assisting a female photographer named Naomi, who is investigating an underwater volcanic eruption. Shogo wishes to finish as soon as possible since the area is becoming increasingly dangerous, but Naomi keeps pushing him to get closer. Shogo reluctantly gives into her demands, but doing so, a wing of their plane is hit by a sudden eruption. He manages to get the plane within swimming distance of a small island, with only animals as its inhibitors. Naomi becomes furious with Shogo, blaming him for what happened to the plane, the two go back and forth till finally Shogo has had enough, leaving Naomi to fend for herself. Shogo wanders further into the island, spotting animals of an array of species that appear to be tamed, assuming they're unafraid due to never seeing a human before. Taking advantage of the situation, Shogo kills a rabbit and cooks it. He soon find himself surrounded by the animals of the jungle, lead by the rabbit's mate, all quietly staring at him. Shogo grows more concerned of what's about to happen, when suddenly an ox appears and dumps Naomi's body in front of him. Terribly injured, Shogo quickly goes to her and surmises that Naomi's condition is revenge for what he had done to the rabbit, through the animals' reactions and body language. Still surrounded, Shogo gives in and tells them that he won't kill anymore rabbits and the crowd slowly dissipates. After tending to Naomi's wounds and making a small shelter, Shogo begins to attempt hunting birds and other small creatures, though each time he's about to do so, a group of animals appear and stops him. Eventually, Shogo gets the message that he's not allowed to hunt on the island and decides to go fishing, which appears to be acceptable, though the animals continue to keep a watchful eye on him. Once he's finishes, he leaves a peace-offering of fish for them to share, in return he's given medical herbs for Naomi. A week's time passes and Naomi finally wakes up. During this time, Shogo has learned the rules of the island, one of which prevents them from creating a fire signal, due to the animals' fear of fire. Naomi finds it foolish to be bossed around by animals, but Shogo explains that the animals seemed to have developed a community where everyone helps each other and everyone benefits, even the predators help the animals that would normally be considered prey. Shogo goes off and is stopped by baboons who are guarding a specific area, he argues that he's one of them now and asks to be allowed to pass, promising to not disturb anything. He is allowed passage, but once he arrives to the area, he quickly regrets it. He returns to Naomi and explains that he stumbled upon a mating ground, where it appears all the animals go to be undisturbed. He explains that he felt guilty for entering such a place, as if he invaded a holy ground. He continues on, explaining that he felt moved by the way the animals showed this sincerity of expressing their love for each other, wondering why humans have such troubles doing the same. He leaves to collect his thoughts, falling asleep in a patch of flowers, realizing that he is falling in love with Naomi. Shogo wakes up to a sudden storm and rushes to Naomi, who is still injured, while leading the animals to the safest place on the island till storm passes. Once it clears, the animals return to their homes, Shogo sees Naomi resting and is tempted to kiss her, but before he can, she wakes up and slaps him. He says how humans are stupid, since they are attracted to each other, but they allow their status, pride and other circumstances to stop them. He leaves Naomi to rest while he goes off to think about the oddity of males and females. When morning comes, Naomi arrives on the beach with bamboo spears. She explains that she wants to go home, but she can't, believing Shogo took advantage of her while she was injured and sleeping, so she must kill him in order to hide such facts. He admits that he did try to kiss her, but he never touched her other than to treat her wounds. He adds that if she was to kill him, instead of living a life of shame, she'd be living a life of regret. This doesn't stop her, as she thinks she'll have no future if anyone finds out about him and her feelings for him. Just in the last second, Shogo finds a sea urchin and throws it at her face, tackling her and attempt to drown her, only to not go through with it due to his feelings with her. He offers to leave if she hates him so much, spotting a cave not far from where they are, he says he'll live there. The two go to investigate it and discover a skeleton of the island's previous inhibitor, with a will left in their coat. It reads that the skeleton belongs to Kazuyoshi Fukumoto, a zoo keeper from during "that unpleasant war" and was ordered to poison the animals he cared for. Due to his guilt over such a task, he commandeers a ship, taking the animals to the deserted island. He explains that he stressed the point to the animals that none of them could kill or eat each other, and somehow the animals understood. He believed that when one speaks from the heart, animals will understand your feelings and asks that who ever finds the letter to not harm the animals. After seeing that they would likely not be rescued and how tranquil the island is, Shogo and Naomi finally give in to their feelings and kiss. Before they can go any further, the cave begins to fall apart, they soon realize that the island is volcanic. With no where to run, Shogo and Naomi see a ship in the distance that comes to help any inhabitants on the island. The pair are thrilled to be rescued, but quickly remember that they will end up going back to their old lives. A life boat arrives with two questionable crew members. Shogo asks them to take the animals, as they are peaceful and have no where else to go. The Crewmen not wanting to care for the animals begin shooting them. Shogo goes to stop them, but during the struggle, Naomi is shot and the island's volcano erupts. Shogo and Naomi are then abandoned by the crewmen. Shogo tells the remaining animals to run and he will find them when things are safe again. He carries Naomi, who appears to have passed away from her wounds, though this does not stop Shogo from promising Naomi that he will still return her home safely. Though as if to seal Naomi's fate, Shogo almost falls into a giant crack in the earth and drops Naomi's body. Before she can recovered, the crack shifts closed, leaving Shogo heartbroken. The island continues to erupt, leaving nothing behind. Category:Apollo's Song